Simple
web design delivers huge benefits to designer, client and user.
When a design doesn't seem to work, ask what should be taken away before asking what's missing.
The benefits of simple design
User benefits
- Load faster - less waiting
- Render faster - quicker reponsiveness
- Usually clearer, easier to scan
- Easier to navigate
Commercial benefits
- Are quicker to design (more profit)
- Quicker to build (more profit)
- Quicker to redesign (following client or user feedback - more profit)
- Require less server disk space and bandwidth (lower costs)
- Are easier to maintain (more profit)
- Are easier to make work on different platforms and browsers (more profit)
Designer benefits
- As well as all the money, all the above leave more time for creative thinking
How to design simply
It's not as easy as it sounds. Creating simple designs takes courage, clear vision, and skill. It definitely gets easier with practice. How do you practice designing simply?
Remember your goalsKeep your goals (the goals of the site and the users' goals) fresh in your mind by writing them down and repeating them at the beginning of each design session. If you get tired or feel like you've lost touch with the message you wish to project - STOP! Take a break, then come back refreshed and look at your goals again.
Think-then-do
Look first with fresh eyes.
Say, "I'm going to..."
Then, just do it.
Trust yourself completely.
Occam's razor is a useful intellectual tool for analysing problems. The principle is that, all things being equal, the simplest solution is probably the best.
When you come across a problem, first ask "Is there anything I can take away?" before considering "Is there anything to add?"
Is there some element of your design that just doesn't fit? If there is, get rid of it, without a second thought.
Even if you have to end up with nothing but a blank canvas and a goal written on a scrap of paper, you're doing it. You're doing extreme design for simplicity.
Using this approach, I completely redesigned and rebuilt the WDFS web site in less than 24 hours, which gave me more time to write.
